Italian Damian Clara suffered an injury after a historic performance
Although Italy ended up losing to Sweden in Wednesday’s preliminary round match at the Winter Olympic Games in Milan Cortina 2026. t5-2, the home side still deserved plenty of plaudits for the way they held their own against a powerful side, in large part due to the play in front of goalkeeper Damian Clara’s net.
However, Clara he couldn’t finish the gameas he had to leave the ice due to an injury, according to hockey writer Derek Lee.
“Ducks prospect Damian Clara’s night is coming to an end after suffering a groin injury on a fantastic save from Elias Petterson. Unfortunate for the Italian, but a strong performance to be proud of with 46 saves,” Lee wrote in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.
The 21-year-old Klara apparently injured himself during the fantastic play he made while deflecting a shot from Sweden star and Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Petterson.
Damian Clara, the first Italian player to be drafted into the NHL, made his presence known despite falling to Sweden in the preliminary round of men’s hockey 👏
Klara was injured during the save and had to leave the game after 46 minutes of play. pic.twitter.com/Slj33dkT9f
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 11, 2026
The first player of Italian descent to be selected in the NHL draft, Clara certainly raised her hockey profile with her valiant effort between the pipes in Italy’s first game at the Olympics.
Anaheim Ducks, who took him in the second round of the 2023 NHL Draftthey must also be delighted with the way their goalkeeper performed, although they must also be hoping his injury is not serious.
With Damian Clara injured, Davide Fadani stepped in and completed goalkeeping duties for Italy, who next face Slovakia in Group B.
2026-02-11 23:27:00
